Jane Stanard, the memory of whom inspired his poem, "To Helen." When this relationship proved to be implausible, he turned to someone his own age, Sarah Elmira Royster (Asselineau, 410). This relationship too was doomed, as her parents did not approve of his lack of social standing.The tale of his scholastic tenure is one of repeated expulsions, gambling debts, and, eventualy, drinking. This is not to say that Poe was a poor student. The exact opposite is the case. Poe was almost always near the top of his class no matter what institution he was currently enrolled in. His problem was that he either became bored or allowed debts from both drinking and gambling to pile up until he was forced to pay or leave. He repeatedly made attempts to coerce his foster father into honoring his debts with no success. The end result was that Poe never got settled into one specific institution, with but one exception, the military.There was only one thing (other than writing) at which Poe seemed to excel while he was of school age. In 1827 he enlisted in the army at Boston under the pseudonym of Edgar A. Perry. He was stationed at Sullivan's Island in Charleston Harbor, which he would describe as the setting of his story "The Gold Bug." He rose in rank rather quickly for a man of his age and experience, attaining the rank of regimental sergeant major, the highest noncommissioned rank for an officer in the army. He soon grew tired of the daily routine of army life and sought admittance to West Point, which he gained through the assistance of his foster father."During this period of nearly perfect social adaptation he must have cherished thoughts of an entirely different kind." (Asselineau, 410). He began writing tales in the morbid and grotesque style which we know him for today. He produced his first compendium, Tamerlane and Other Poems which, sadly, went virtually unnoticed by the literary world. Though a failure, he did not allow his first experience...
